In the past few years, smartphones had been kind of stale. Sure, there were improvements to the camera, the battery life was improved, and operating systems became quicker, but innovations were few and far between. All of that changed with the BlackBerry 10 OS. Here are just a few ways that BlackBerry made cell phones cool again.

6 Ways BlackBerry Made Cell Phones Cool Again

Image via Flickr by Martin uit Utrecht

BlackBerry Protect

One thing that BlackBerry has always been known for is its security. This trend continues with the new BlackBerry 10 line of phones. Utilizing the cloud, BlackBerry allows you to back up your device. If it gets lost or stolen, you can remotely wipe your device. When you get your replacement, you can download all of your information to the new BlackBerry phone.

BlackBerry Hub

BlackBerry Hub is an all-in-one notification center. No longer will you have to scroll through multiple programs to receive all of your messages and updates. With BlackBerry Hub, a simple swipe will allow you to see all of your text messages, email and social media updates. The effect is to unify the user’s communications experience, seamlessly integrating your direct interactions with your online profiles.

BlackBerry Messenger

The groundbreaking Blackberry bbm for android allows users to talk over multiple platforms. If you’re using BlackBerry Messenger to communicate with someone else who is also running BlackBerry 10, you’ll be able to video chat, and, in a first, share your screen with them.

Time Shift

This is, by far, the most innovative feature to come not only to smartphones, but to photography in general. Have you ever captured a picture that was off by just a few seconds? With BlackBerry’s new Time Shift feature, it records a video for a few seconds. From there, you can edit individual portions of the video a few milliseconds backwards and forward in time, allowing you to create the perfect picture, regardless of if someone blinked or not.

Story Maker

With BlackBerry 10, you can turn your pictures into a story. The new Story Maker mode allows you to take your pictures and videos, string them together, add a few sound effects, and turn it into an HD movie. This type of editing has never been so easy, especially on a mobile platform.

Malware Prevention

With any open source platform, viruses are a huge issue. BlackBerry is being proactive in this regard by partnering up with Trend Micro. With Trend Micro as their partner, BlackBerry ensures its users that everything uploaded to the BlackBerry World App Store are analyzed and verified to be malware free. Once installed, thanks to BlackBerry Safeguard, you can see exactly what information the app you downloaded is accessing and you can restrict access accordingly.

With the new line of BlackBerry smartphones running BlackBerry 10, they’ve created something truly unique. Be sure to keep an eye out for hot deals if you plan on shopping for a BlackBerry 10 online. With these innovative features, cellphones have been made cool again.